Use our guide to learn which trials are right for you!

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors.
Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of
tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Monoclonal
antibodies, such as cetuximab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the
ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or
carry tumor-killing substances to them. It is not yet known whether radiation therapy is more
effective with cisplatin or cetuximab in treating oropharyngeal cancer.

PURPOSE: This phase III trial is studying radiation therapy with cisplatin or cetuximab to
see how well it works in treating patients with oropharyngeal cancer.

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

- To determine whether substitution of cisplatin with cetuximab will result in comparable
5-year overall survival.

- Women of childbearing potential and male participants must agree to use a medically
effective means of birth control throughout their participation in the treatment phase
of the study, and until at least 60 days following the last study treatment

- Patients who are HIV-positive and have no prior AIDS-defining illness and have CD4
cells of at least 340/mm³ are eligible

- No prior invasive malignancy except non-melanoma skin cancer, or malignancy for which
the patient has been disease-free for at least 3 years (e.g., carcinoma in situ of the
breast, oral cavity, or cervix)